SAMI’s emulsion-stabilised aggregate material supported road base workability and performance for Brisbane City Council .
STRENGTH AND
EMULSION
A COLLABORATIVE PARTNERSHIP BETWEEN SAMI BITUMEN TECHNOLOGIES AND BRISBANE CITY COUNCIL HAS CONFIRMED THE BENEFITS OF EMULSION STABILISATION TECHNOLOGY.
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uture infrastructure demand will be directly affected by population growth, broader economy shifts, technological change and the need for environmental sustainability, according to Infrastructure Australia. Ensuring the road network meets future demand is more complex than simply building new roads. Extensive work is required to maintain existing roads through improving road base strength and resilience. Given the inter-connected nature of public policy, improving that performance while also meeting public expectations requires increasingly collaborative relationships between industry and 20
ROADS SEPTEMBER 2019
government. lulian Man, SAMI Bitumen Technologies Technical Services Manager, says collaboration across a diverse set of stakeholders is integral to ensuring Australia’s future infrastructure sustainability. “SAMI is consistently working with asset owners to find cost-effective ways to improve road performance,” Mr. Man says. In 2017, SAMI partnered with Brisbane City Council (BCC) to develop and trial emulsion-stabilised granular road material. SAMI developed the material for BCC at its in-house lab, before BCC lay the material on a council road for detailed monitoring and performance testing.
“The BCC trial was designed to confirm SAMI’s belief that using emulsions to stabilise aggregate road material is more effective for workability and performance in the presence of moisture, due to the better coating of the aggregate particles,” Mr. Man says. “SAMI has undertaken significant research in this space, and the partnership with BCC gave us the opportunity to translate that research into real world application.” Traditionally, the practice of strengthening granular material for road base involved treating the material with a cementitious or bituminous binder, but SAMI is seeking alternatives. “Cement or lime treated materials are
